According to the CEO of Kenya’s largest lender by market value, cryptocurrency can supplement mobile money in Africa if regulators are convinced of its benefits.
Many African central banks have issued warnings against cryptocurrency trading, and some have outright prohibited it. The Central African Republic is the only African country that has legalized digital assets, and the South African Reserve Bank is developing guidelines to protect investors.
Equity Group Holdings Plc Chief Executive Officer James Mwangi said; Africa will benefit greatly from a head start with technologies, one of which is cryptocurrency. Mobile money transactions were only possible in Kenya due to the regulator’s willingness to experiment with new technology.
“We’re hoping that the use of technology, particularly data and artificial intelligence, will be a major basis for leapfrogging because we’re not talking about existing manufacturing capacity; we’re starting from scratch,” he explained.
